Biography of Lieutenant General (Ret.) František Fajtl

František Fajtl was born August 20th, 1912 at Donín, Louny district; died October 4th, 2006 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Following the town primary school, General Fajtl studied, in 1928-32, the secondary school of commerce at Teplice-Šanov, where he successfully completed his school-leaving exam on June 24th, 1932. On October 1st, 1932, he entered his conscription service, during which he passed the School for Reserve Infantry Officers at 1st Division in Prague. He went through the required practical training, first at the Mountain Battalion 11 at Bardejov, Slovakia, and then at the Mountain Infantry Battalion 4 in Sabinov, Slovakia.

However, as General František Fajtl chose his career with the military, he enrolled at the Military Academy, which he attended during 1933 - 1935 (the first academic year, with general military programme at Hranice na Moravě, the second year with specialisation in Air Force took place in the town of Prostějov). He became a qualified aerial observer and pilot, and, on July 1st, 1935, completed his studies and was commissioned Air Force Lieutenant. He was directly assigned to Olomouc to serve with the 5th Observer Squadron of Air Regiment 2, where at he returned after finishing the necessary flight application course at Prostějov (the course was from 3 Jan and 29 Jun 1936).

On October 19th, he became an assistant to the Commander I/2 squadron, and, as of April 1st, 1938, he became the Squadron First Officer, i.e. a Deputy Commander of the 5th Observer Squadron. František Fajtl was promoted to Pilot-Airman on July 1st, 1935, Field Pilot on March 1st, 1937, Observer-Pilot on August 1st, 1936, and Field Observer Pilot on April 1st, 1938. In the meantime, he expanded his aviation qualification with a night flight and instrument flight course held at Olomouc, multi-engine airplanes pilot training course in Prague, single-seat aircraft pilot training and fighter course at Stichovice. He was assigned to fighter pilots as of the 1st September 1938, and on March 1st, 1939, to night flight pilots. In the period of growing international tension, General Fajtl was ordered to move, on 15 August 1938, from the 5th Observer Squadron at Olomouc to the 63rd reconnaissance squadron based at Přerov, where he mostly flew the Letov Š-328 and Aero A-100 biplanes and later the modern twin-engine Avia B-71 aircraft (originally Soviet SBs). At the 63rd Squadron, he also held the post of First Officer, i.e. Deputy Commander (to Commander Maj. Vojtěch Skoba).

During mobilisation in September 1938, the squadron was put under the command of the 2nd Army Air Component tasked to operate in Northern Moravia with its airstrip located at Henčlov, from where the unit later returned to Přerov. Until 15th March 1939, General Fajtl performed 1,794 flights, totalling 527.51 flight hours, of which 263 flights of about 50 hours behind the stick of B-534 fighter airplanes.

František Fajtl had crossed the Czechoslovak-Polish border on June 11th, 1939, at the town of Velký Polom, and, upon arrival to Krakow, he presented himself, on June 24th, at the Foreign Military Group of Czechoslovakia. Following his stay in staging camp Bronowice Male, he departed onboard Kastelholm ship from Gdynia of Poland to Calais, France, where he arrived on 31 July 1939. Then he stayed at Dugny barracks at Le Bourget airfield near Paris, where he was, on October 7th, 1939, formally accepted into the ranks of the Foreign Legion, ranked Sergent. Three days later, together with a group of other airmen, he departed to Avord base, from where he was sent, on 15 January 1940, to Chartres to complete fighter training. Not only was his original rank returned to him there, but he was also promoted 1st Lieutenant of Air Force on May 1st, 1940.

Once Germany launched its western campaign, František Fajtl he was sent to the front, heading a three-airplane flight – first on 27 May 1940 to GC III/9 to Lyon-Satolas airfield, then, on June 6th to GC III/7 to Coulomniers airfield at Paris, and finally, on June 17th, he joined the withdrawing 1st Czechoslovak Fighter Squadron of Capt. Jaroslav Kulhánek (formed at GC I/6). Upon handover of airplanes in Bergerac, he departed with others to Port Vendres, where he embarked General Chanza ship and departed, on June 24th, for Northern Africa, continued onboard Gib-el-Dersa from Casablanca to Gibraltar and then on Neuralia to Liverpool port (July 12th, 1940).

After a short stay in quarantine camp Cholmondeley Park, František Fajtl was sent, on July 21st, to Czechoslovak air depot in Cosford, where he was admitted to RAF VR in the rank of Pilot Officer on August 2nd, 1940. Already on August 6th, František Fajtl became a member of the 310th (Czechoslovak) Fighter Squadron, but there was a surplus number of pilots there at the time, so he went through operation training from August 17th to September 9th, 1940, at the 6th OTU located in Sutton Bridge. On September 10th, 1940, he was assigned to the 1st (UK) Fighter Squadron based in Northolt, from where the unit soon moved to Wittering, but he was assigned to Debden already on September 15th and joined the 17th fighter squadron. Both squadrons flew Hurricanes, in whose cockpits he participated in the Battle of Britain, winning his first air victories – he shot down two airplanes in cooperation with his British comrades and seriously damaged another aircraft.

From Debden, the 17th Squadron moved to Martlesham Heath airfield on October 8th, 1940, from where, after months of intensive operations, the airmen were ordered a recovery tour in Scotland and on adjacent islands (in the meantime, on December 27th, 1940, František Fajtl was promoted Flying Officer). On April 14th, 1941, he ferried with his squadron to the Castletown airfield, where he stayed in the squadron ranks till 25 May 1941 (he served at Elgin airfield in May 1-6th, 1941). Once the 313th Czechoslovak Fighter Squadron had formed, he became one of its founding members (27 May 1941). Following consolidation and training with Spitfires, the squadron soon joined offensive operations as a part of the Portreath and Hornchurch Wings. František Fajtl attained two confirmed shot-downs and damaged another aircraft. After his successful performance, both first honours and promotions followed, coupled with assignment to ever more responsible functions. Already on September 1st, 1941, František Fajtl was promoted Flight Lieutenant, (Air Force Captain) on 28 October 1941, and, from December 15th, 1941, he was in command of Flight A of the 313th Czechoslovak Fighter squadron.

Nevertheless, by far the greatest recognition he received on April 27th, 1942, when he became, as the first Czechoslovak officer Commander of British fighter squadron. It was the 122nd Fighter Squadron (City of Bombay), operating, same as the 313 Sqdn had, as a part of the Hornchurch Wing. He was promoted Squadron Leader and immediately joined further offensive operations. When accompanying Boston aircraft above Lille on 5 May 1942 (operation Circus 157), a major air battle broke out, during which he was shot down (by Lt. Arthur Beese, member of 1./JG 26 Schlageter). Nevertheless, he managed to sneak out of the location of his emergency landing at Hardifort (north of Hazebrouck), escaping from among German soldiers in search of him. With the help of French patriots, he managed to reach Paris-Puteaux on May 14th, where found a refuge in the family of naturalised Czech Viktor Formánek, a compatriot born in Fajtl’s native village. With false papers, he departed Paris on May 26th, and headed, via Bourges (30 May), Montlucon (31 May), for unoccupied part of France, then from Vichy via Lyon, Montpellier and Beziéres, and, on his final French stop in a small town of Argéles-sur-Mer, he managed, on June 3rd, to send a letter to U.S. Ambassador in Vichy, informing that he would attempt to cross Pyrenees for neutral Spain on the next day. Thereby he announced his arrival and requested the Ambassador to apprise the British consul in Barcelona. He managed to cross Pyrenees adventurously at the expense of injury on June 4th, 1942, but in the vicinity of the town of Espola he was arrested by Spanish soldiers. He was imprisoned first in Figueras (June 4-6th), Barcelona (June 6-9th), then in Zaragoza (June 9-11th) and then in the infamous Campo Concentration in Miranda de Ebro, where he shared miserable conditions with several other refugees of similar destinies for two months, from June 11th., to August 12th, 1942.

Pursuant to action taken by the British consul in Madrid, a“Major Frank Fattle,“ a name František Fajtl used, he was freed. On August 13th, he left for Madrid and then, via La Línea, to British Gibraltar. At night from August 20-21st, 1942, in closing of his three-month journey, he set off onboard a twin-engine Hudson for England.

Having recovered after his escape, he became a member to the ICL based in London, where he served as a liaison officer. First he was, on 25 September 1942, shortly seconded to HQ 11th Fighter Command group, then he worked, from 2 October 1942 and for a short period of time, from May 15th to June 15th, 1943, as the Czechoslovak liaison officer directly in the Fighter Command staff. On May 1st, 1943, he was promoted Flight Lieutenant, and, on June 15th, 1943, to Wing Commander, and, in connection with the promotion, he served for the following several months as the Czechoslovak co-commander of bases, where individual squadrons of the Czechoslovak wing operated from, i.e. Churchstanton (from June 15th), Skeabrae (from June 24th) and Ibsley (from September 22nd, 1943). Then, when commander 313 squadron S/Ldr Jaroslav Himr did not return from fights over Breston on 24 September 1943, František Fajtl was appointed his successor on 27 September 1943. According to British regulations, he was required to give up the rank of Wing Commander in connection with the reassignment and became ranked Squadron Leader. He led the 313 Sqdn into fights over occupied Europe till his release from RAF VR on 31st January 1944.

In the meantime, at latest on November 19th, 1943, František Fajtl was preliminarily appointed “Commander of fighter squadron to be sent to the USSR.“ Heading a group of twenty fighter pilots and a ground service officer, he set off, on February 21st, 1944, onboard Reina del Pacifico ship via the Mediterranean into the USSR. After arrival to Ivanovo airfield (approx. 180 km NE from Moscow), these airmen formed, on 3 May 1944, the 128th Czechoslovak independent fighter air squadron, which was, as at June 1st, 1944, at the Kubinka airfield (SW to Moscow), reorganised into 1st Czechoslovak Independent Fighter Air Regiment. František Fajtl remained in command of the Regiment till the end of WWII. He led the regiment comprising two squadrons not only in the course of famous fights in the uprising Slovakia, but also after its reorganisation into three squadrons in the final fights for the Moravian Gate. There he closed his war balance, totalling 275 operational flight hours – 15 in France, 240 in Great Britain and 20 in the Soviet Union. In the meantime, on November 1st, 1944, (according to other sources as late as 7 March 1945) he was promoted Major.

Major František Fajtl returned to Prague on 13 May 1945 and remained the head of the regiment until 7 August 1945, when the unit was getting ready to move to its peacetime base in Slovakia. On August 8th, he was assigned to Operations Group of Air Force Section 1 of the Defence Staff, where he stayed until October 30th, 1945, when he became student in the 3rd class of War College in Prague. Upon graduation (22 Aug 1946), ranked Lieutenant-Colonel of General Staff, he held the post of the acting Deputy Commander of the 1st (Prague) Air Division. Apart from that, he proactively participated in the renewed professional organisation of airmen. At the reconstituting meeting of the Air Force Association of the Republic of Czechoslovakia in 1945, he had become the chairman, which he was until what was called “Action Commission” took over in February 1948. Upon forming of the division, František Fajtl became professor of the Air Force Chair at War College in Prague on 31 March 1948 (according to other sources on October 1st, 1948). Instead of being promoted to Colonel of the General Staff (as of 1 Dec 1949), he was sent for extraordinary holiday on that day, then to holiday on wait on May 1st and retired as of November 1st, 1949.

He found himself a job of auxiliary archivist in National Technical Museum at Invalidovna in Prague-Karlín, but was arrested on January 10th, 1950, and transported to Forced Labour Camp in Mírov, where he spent 16 months. In the meantime, he was degraded to the rank of private (2 Dec 1950) and his wife with daughter were forced to move out of Prague. Upon release (11 Jun 1951), he began to work first as a helper with civil engineering enterprise Betona, then he worked for United Communal Enterprise Louny, where he passed all reorganisations, over the many years, into District Civil Engineering Enterprise Louny; he worked there as a warehouseman, cashier, bookkeeper and head accountant. He regained his civil rights partially in 1964.

The rank of Lieutenant-Colonel was returned to him and he was promoted Colonel. As a part of recovery of civil rights, he assumed the post of senior inspector for investigation of air accidents at the Czech Civil Aviation Authority in 1965. In that time, he also resumed his quite rich publishing activities, started already during the Battle of Britain and which continued for the following decades.

In 1968, he activated in an attempt to reconstitute the Air Force Association of the Republic of Czechoslovakia, which he once chaired. The reconstituting assembly, planned to take place on September 14-15th, 1968, was however thwarted by the invasion of forces of the Warsaw Treaty. He activated again after November 1989, and was elected honorary chairman of the Air Force Association of the Czechoslovak Federative Republic (today the Air Force Association of the Czech Republic) on 31 March 1990 (together with Col. Karel Mrázek). Already in December 1989, he was also elected chairman of the Association of Airmen abroad (whose interests were previously defended by the Air Force Association of the free Czechoslovakia, based in London, UK). However, he resigned to the post as at April 22nd, 1992, for health reasons (his former subordinate, Col. Stanislav Hlučka, was elected the chair). On May 1st, 1990, he became one of the first three airmen of the Western front, who were promoted to the rank of Major-General (Ret.) (together with his comrades in arms, Col. Karel Mrázek and Col. Pavel Kocfelda), and to Lieutenant-General (Ret.) on May 8th, 2002. He lived in Prague.

Awards, Medals and Honours:

4x Czechoslovak War Cross (on October 8th and 26th, 1942, June 20th, and August 30th, 1945), 2x Czechoslovak medal for gallantry (July 25th, 1941 and May 5th, 1943), Czechoslovak Medal of Merit, 1st Class, Czechoslovak War Remembrance Medal with F (France), VB (United Kigdom) and SSSR (USSR) clasps, Order of the Slovak National Uprising, 1st Class (August 28th, 1945), Order of Red Star (1965), Order of Red Standard (1985), Order of white lion, 2nd Class ”For Victory “ (October 28th, 2004), Croix de Guerre avec palme, Légion d´ Honneur - Chevalier (November 11th, 1994), Distinguished Flying Cross (November 10th, 1942), The 1939-1945 Star with Battle of Britain Clasp, Air Crew Europe Star, Za pobědu nad Germanijej (April 22nd, 1946), Corona Romana, red Partizanskoj zvezdy 3. st. (March 22nd 1946) and other.

Works:

Letecké povídky (Londýn 1944), Přítel mraků (Praha 1946 a 1991), Sestřelen (Praha 1947, 1967, 2002), První doma (Praha 1974), Podruhé doma (Praha 1983), Vzpomínky na padlé kamarády (Praha 1980), Boje a návraty (Praha 1987), Pouta nebes (Praha 2000), Bitva o Británii (Praha 1991), Létal jsem s Třistatřináctkou (Praha 1991), Dva údery pod pás (Praha 1993), Z Donína do oblak (Louny 2002), Generál nebe (Praha 1993), Hrdina století (Praha 1994), Velel jsem stíhačům (Cheb 1997), literární úprava memoárů radiotelegrafisty Miroslava Vilda (Osud byl mým přítelem. Praha 1985) a dělostřelce Richarda Zdráhaly (Válčil jsem v poušti, Praha 1990), překlady knih Huberta Griffitha Britští letci v Sovětském svazu (Praha 1989) a Manuela van Eycka Zemřeli jsme pro Anglii (Praha 1993) a četné příspěvky do řady odborných periodik (především Rozlet, Letectví, Letectví a kosmonautika, Hlas revoluce, Národní osvobození apod.)

Sources:

VÚA-VHA, Praha, kvalifikační listina, VÚA-VHA, ČSL-VB, Kronika 313. peruti, TNA-PRO, Kew, AIR 27, No 1. 17 a 122 Squadron Operations Record Book, FAJTL, F.: Vzpomínky na padlé kamarády. Praha 1980, TÝŽ: Sestřelen. Praha 1947, TÝŽ: První doma. Praha 1974, TÝŽ: Podruhé doma. Praha 1983, TÝŽ: Vzpomínky na padlé kamarády. Praha 1980, TÝŽ: Létal jsem s Třistatřináctkou. Praha 1991, TÝŽ: Dva údery pod pás. Praha 1993, RAJLICH, J.: Na nebi sladké Francie. 1. & 2. část. Praha 1998, RAJLICH, J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu. 1. část (1940). Praha 1999, RAJLICH, J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu. 2. část (1941). Cheb 2000, RAJLICH, J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu.. 3. část (1942). Cheb 2001, RAJLICH, J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu. 4. část (1943). Cheb 2002, RAJLICH, J.: Na nebi hrdého Albionu. 5. část (1944). Cheb 2003.

Posted: October 13, 2006